With summer at a near-close, all of the gorgeous weather Toronto has been enjoying for the past week must seem like a bit of a cruel joke to anyone going back to school next week. Even though I’m an old bag now, there’s something about the end of summer that prompts me to play as much summer music and eat as many popsicles as possible. It’s almost like I can taste the back to school even if I can’t experience it. One catchy little ditty that one of my friends in Denver has alerted me to: The Drums’ Let’s Go Surfing.
Once again we have a band that has been transplanted from a sunshine state to Brooklyn in order to pursue a musical career. This marks the bajillionth time I have mentioned Brooklyn’s burgeoning music scene on PM but seriously, there has gotta be something in the water there. Let’s Go Surfing reminds me of everything that’s awesome about youthful summer. Fucking off to go to the beach aside, it’s really about complete and utter freedom and the last sweet drops of pure happiness a teenager can enjoy. And despite myself, I like the whistling parts.
The Drums share a lot of other similarities with some of their NYC counterparts in that they will experience serious backlash against their creative borrowing and influences. Truth be known, there is very little indication that this is a fresh and original 2009 band as opposed to an early 80′s one when you listen to the rest of their catalogue, but goddammit, is that such a bad thing after all? Seems we make exceptions for some and cane others until they’re bludgeoned to death. I know there are differences between aping, homage, and influence but when did borrowing from the 80′s become the musical crime of the century? There are serious surf-rock elements here as well to my delight. I guess that just means I’ve become CHFI‘s Easy Listening demographic.
So sue me.
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